This invention relates to the distribution of electrical power to various load devices. More particularly, the invention concerns the distribution of building power to power receptacles, lighting devices and to other electrical equipment and appliances. The invention is especially adapted for supplying the electrical needs of office work stations.
It has been recognized that portable office partitions could be made more functional if the electrical power distribution to power receptacles and to lighting devices could be built into the panels and readily interconnected between adjacent panels. Such an approach is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,639, issued to Harold VanderHoek et al for a PANEL WIRING SYSTEM. However, such power distribution system must be designed into the structure of the partitions and is not readily adaptable to existing non-electrified partitions.
Another desirable feature of a power distribution system is the ability to control the application of electrical power to the load. Traditional load switching techniques are not only cumbersome and inflexible but are not compatible with the multitude of sophisticated control devices presently available. While control schemes have been suggested to provide control of multiple loads within, for example, a common office suite, such schemes have significant drawbacks. One such scheme encodes control information onto the high voltage power supply circuit, including the address of the intended "smart receptacle." The information is decoded at the load control device by logic circuitry in order to energize or deenergize the load. Another scheme utilizes radio transmission signals to send control information, including device addresses, to load control devices located throughout an office suite. Such schemes are not only overly complex and expensive, they have proven to be susceptible to radio frequency interference from various sources and have a limited number of addresses available. Furthermore, while it may be intended to limit the scope of control to a particular office or suite, there is no known practical approach to precluding interference with adjacent office suites and even adjacent buildings.